Theorising indirect discrimination law

Experts from across the world discussed the prohibition on indirect discrimination at a conference at Wadham College this month.

This event was the last of a series of conferences hosted and supported by Wadham College, All Souls College and the Law Faculty. Dr Tarunabh Khaitan and Professor Hugh Collins brought together experts from all over the world to discuss the theoretical foundations of a core element of discrimination law: the prohibition on indirect discrimination.

Twelve papers were presented across a day and a half, including a paper on 'Wrongs, Wrongfulness and Culpability in Indirect Discrimination Law' by Wadham's own Law Fellows - Tarun Khaitan and Sandy Steel. Each paper was praised, tested and challenged through half an hour of discussion by the group. This process was productive and invaluable to the authors as they work on their papers in advance of a forthcoming collected edition on the topic.

The group included academics from the US, Canada, Denmark, South Africa and Israel, and members from closer to home - London, Bristol, Leeds and Oxford — as well as practitioners and former judges — who brought unique and thought-provoking insights to the workshop table. A number of postgraduate students were also invited, and in return for their assistance in guiding our guests around Oxford and Wadham, earned a whirlwind tour of the most recent scholarship in this crucial area of law and policy.